Mexico weekly ledger., 1887-09-08

SAM JONES FAMOUS CON
VERT TALKS TO A RIG
CROWD.
The Story Of His DOWNFALL IN
Early Life and His Subse-
quent Conversion.

The Rev. Sam Small. the ex-
drunkard and "a convert Of Sam
Jones. with whom he has been asso'
ciated for the purpose of saving souls
for some months past, told the story
of his life to an immense audience IN
the Opera House last night. AS
early as seven o'clock the building
was packed. many at that time stand
ing, near the doors. A large portion
of the audience was drawn there out
of nothing more than mere curiosity.
Others came, thinking TO hear some
thing hoisterous in the way of a SER
mon, but they we're mistaken, for
nothing but a lecture, which Small
has probably given hundreds of times,
was heard.
On the stage, besides MIR. Small
and the choir, were Rev. L. X. Mil
Ter, Ed. Mumpower. Rev. Bakery,
of Osborne, No.. Rev. ,Beagtes, of
Columbia; and Rev. Shackleford, of
Rocheport; Rev. S. L. Woody, st.
Charles and Rev. j. L. Squires,
Jasnesport.
After the singing of GLORY be to
the Father" "When the mists have
cleared away" and 1.-The Lord is my
Shepherd" by the choir, the speaker
Was introduced by Rev. E. X. Miller
as 1.-THE man OF whom you have heard
so much and seen so little-Rev.
Sam Small
Mr.. Small settled down to work
right away, for he had a long lecture
and is naturally a quick talker. He
took as his text Acts 3-16:
And His name, through faith ir
His name, hath made this mar
strong, whom ye see and know; yea
the faith which is by him hath giveI
him this perfect sounduess in thu
presence of you all.
He told the familiar story, in
pleasant way, of the man in the ia
East who bought all the little captive
birds he could find and gave then
their liberty, to which he added
few words concerning his W earl,
life snd the religious training he hat
received from his mother.
Following this came the story 0
how he became the greatest sot eve
the State of Georgia contained
which has grown familiar to almos
everyone. At any rate, after leay
ing the side of his mother and til
counsel of his father and home, b
fell into evil ways. He Vas a Wi
ling captive, and when he fioaily fir
ished his education at college an
returned, he was far down the path
of sin.
Il stand now in my recovere
power" he said, land tell of N
past life and what the saloon me
did for me, and am called a crank
But If 1 am a crank now I'd rathe
be a decent, upright, God fearin
crank that | am now than a Low
beastly despised crank that l was.
Amens from the ministers.
Small had been a terrible drunk
ard, according to his own story, an
had tried every known remedy fo
his habit, but without c III
wife and children sorrowed and weep,
!, and his mother and father died, tllei
/ lives shortened by grief, but he keI
: on.
In a lucid interval one Sunday i
September, 1886. Mr.. Small too.
t his children Gut fifty miles from Al
lanta to see Sam Jones big tent. H
: had never heard him.
; "Sam Jones had Feen in Atlanta
he confessed. II had been city ed
tor of the Constitution and from wha
/ had heard of Sam Jones | had Il
sort Of respect for the man. Often
as city editor, when reporters woul'
bring il a long account Of a sermol
I'd cut it all out but a single hea'
and say, Sam Jones preached las
night in his usual Characteristic style
l was too orthodox. l wanted for
preacher a man IN clothes as black a
though coated with coffin varnish
who looked as though he had com
from n funeral and was going t.
another. He must begin at firstly
and go down to 'seventecnthiy,' cut
ting up his sermon like a pie SO ev
erybody could get a piece.
"NNith the confidence for whic!
newspaper men sre noted, l climbed
up on the reporters stand, though
l really had nc business there, ant
took out my book as if taking the ser
mon. In about 8 minutes, IL discovered
that the man wss preaching; that h
was preaching sense: that it wa!
common sense that he was preach.
ing along the line I'd been, and
concluded I'd better stop and sec
how far he'd been along It," Ther
came the struggle and two days later
Mr.. Small's conversion. That night
he preached or a street coraer il
Atlanta.
The people didn't know how to take
his street sermon. Bets were given
and taken freely on bis sincerity
whether he would stick a week or a
month, but" he added II fooled
them ALL"